Esbjerg tourist information

Esbjerg is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Ribe County on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 221 km², and has a total population of 82,312 (2005), which makes it Denmark's 5th biggest city. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Esbjerg.

Neighboring municipalities with land connection are Bramming to the southeast, Helle to the east, and Varde to the north. Neighboring municipalities to the west are Fanø, an island municipality located in Fanø Bay (Fanø Bugt) and Blåvandshuk, which is separated from Esbjerg by the waters of Ho Bay (Ho Bugt). These two bays define the municipality's western border. Beyond the island of Fanø and Fanø Bay is the North Sea.

Ferry service connects the municipality at the city of Esbjerg over Ho Bay to Nordby on the island of Fanø via Scandlines, and over the North Sea to Harwich, England via DFDS Seaways.

By January 1, 2007 Esbjerg municipality will, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007), be merged with existing Bramming and Ribe municipalities to form the new Esbjerg municipality. This will create a municipality with an area of 741 km² and a total population of 114,097 (2005). The new municipality will belong to the new Region Syddanmark ("South Denmark Region").

The municipality is a large transport hub for both rail and highway traffic, and is an important port for Danish North Sea oil offshore activity. It has an airport, and is a center for machine building. The municipality has a number of museums, theatres (operas also of ballet, drama), and several libraries.

The city was once Denmark's biggest fishing harbour, and the harbour is still an economic driving force in the town. Besides the fishing industry Esbjerg is also the main city for Denmark's oil and offshore activities. Companies like Mærsk Oil & Gas, Rambøll Oil & Gas, COWI and Atkins Denmark all have offshore related activities in the city.

Esbjerg is one of the central towns of the University of Southern Denmark, and is also home to a small branch of Aalborg University.

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